Usyk ends Joshua's reign as world heavyweight champion
Oleksandr Usyk ended Anthony Joshua's reign as world heavyweight champion in front of the Londoner's home crowd with a stunning unanimous points decision victory on Saturday, scuppering hopes of a ‘Battle of Britain' unification bout with fellow world title-holder Tyson Fury.
Joshua ended the 12th and final round of the contest backed up on the ropes, with the cheers of a crowd of more than 66,000 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium no match for the skills of his challenger.
The impressive Ukrainian triumphed 117-112, 116-112 and 115-113 on the scorecards of the three judges in just the former undisputed cruiserweight world champion's third bout as a heavyweight.
Usyk moved well right from the opening bell and the southpaw staggered Joshua with a powerful roundhouse left-hand punch to the head in the third rounds. By the end of the tenth round, there was swelling under Joshua's right eye. Usyk finished strongly as he backed Joshua onto the ropes and appeared poised for a knockout when the final bell sounded.